Exam Week

I’m going to make a shocking admission. Buckle up; honesty on its way!

Serving others can be very, very, very tiring.

It’s okay if you scratch me off your good missionary list; I think I took myself off that list about a week into this adventure. It’s okay if you think I’m selfish; I totally am. I’m a human being, right? Being a missionary doesn’t automatically make you some sort of ‘super Christian.’

Dealing with the collective selfishness of over 70 children at short range for 12 weeks and the selfishness of your co-workers who are flawed human beings just like you, is hard. Goodness, at this point in the term I find being stuck with me gets pretty hard to bear! I don’t know how others put up with me if I can barely stand myself…

The toll on my mind, my emotions, and this year in particular my body have been pretty high. The sleep deprivation, the stress, and the sinking feeling that no matter how fast you pour yourself out, you can’t meet the gaping need in front of you.

Need, need, need. Humans are so needy. I can’t even fathom how God beings to deal with a whole history of needy humankind. I guess I’ve learned to appreciate just a tiny bit more what it means when it says that God gives wisdom to all without reproach. Ouch. My wisdom is too often dished out with a rather large helping of reproach. I guess I’ve learned just a little bit more how unlovable I am, and how great God is to love me anyway, raging selfishness and all.

So, in these last few days of term (the kids go home on Thursday—GLORY HALLELUJAH), please pray for me. Pray that this empty vessel will somehow have just a little bit more oil to pour into the gapping maws of need all around her. Pray that my aching hand and arm will survive the practice I needs to put in for three days of intense piano playing. Pray that I will be able to find joy in the midst of oh so much tiredness. Pray that I will be able to draw deep of my inexhaustible Savior so that I can serve for these last four days.

Because this is all so totally worth it; if I’m going to drive myself to craziness, this is a pretty good place to do it. Right now it’s just hard.

“My [God’s] power is made perfect in weakness…”

Last week of 'normal' school

First, two of the very few pictures I took over half term:

Then, a picture of the after results of my hour of wall scrubbing during half-term:

I forgot to take a before picture, but in this next one where I finally have my pictures back on the wall, the damage to the left one should give you an idea of what most of that wall looked like--horrid brown stains all down it. I'm glad they came off, but it sure took a toll on my arms and hand! I'm so glad to have that cleared up, and to have my pictures back up.

The other big thing that happened over half-term was that I got my new-to-me+newest I've ever experience in my life fridge; having shelves inside is a huge plus!

Life is pretty hectic, and next week, exam week will be even more hectic. Prayers for physical, mental, and emotional strength are appreciated.

Parting shot:

This tree was struck by lightning this Thursday; notice how all the bark was blown off, and how split the trunk is. I was in upper school, but I could totally feel the 'zing' in the air as the bolt hit.

Week 10

Very briefly--pictures to hopefully follow at the end of this week!

* We had half-term; it was a nice break before the final dash to the finish.

* I scrubbed a small section of wall for over an hour; it was totally worth it.

* I had another weekend on and survived...barely!

* The bulk of the grade 9 exams are now over--huzzah!

Have a great week!

Exams and prayer

Sorry for the missed week; last weekend was my busiest weekend on, and I was doing well to be ready for Monday morning much less get a blog entry off! I had both afternoon rivers which was sort of nice; outdoor knitting time! But it does take a big chunk of time. Some highlights from the last two weeks

* My class started studying history—we’re enjoying our exploration of the Middle Ages, and there is some castle building going on as well as some fact learning. I love this unit!

* It was officially revealed that we are going to be down a staff family next term; they are not sure whether they will be able to return before the start of second term or not. A second staff family is also going to be away for second term, so as of now it looks like there will be only two full time teachers on station at any one time for the first two terms of next year (one of them me). We have heard that David is willing to fill in during first term, and there are two potential short termers coming for part of second term, but we still have not hint of a grade one teacher, and it’s looking to be an incredibly lean year. I am just praying right now that the Lord will make His will, whatever it is very clear to us, and that He will give me the faith to rest in Him.

* This week our three grade 9 students had their first four national exams; the science, computers, and music practicals. We are not a registered test center, so it was and will be a big undertaking to transport them to Samahina for their exams. They will be writing for about the next week and a half; you can’t get this all over in one shot of course! Now that the practicals are over, the written exams should hopefully go a little more smoothly. We hosted the computer exam here on station; the exams started at 8am, and the last batch finished about 8pm.

* This Monday and Tuesday are our second half-term, so I’ll have more time to get caught up on marking and to work on practicing for the Christmas program. Never bored!

Parting Shot: Our two new water tanks were installed last week; the old one is about to go at any point. They are working on switching over to the new tanks, and then we are in busines!